Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 / Overtures / Violin Concerto

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These performances of Beethoven's nine symphonies were recorded in the early to mid 1960's in the Manhattan Centre with the New York Philharmonic. The Violin Concerto comes from 1959 with Isaac Stern as the distinguished soloist. The style of performance is in marked contrast to the highly mannered, self-indulgent way Bernstein was to adopt in later years. Indeed one of the most remarkable features of these performances is their straight-forward honesty, their ordinariness. They are almost entirely free from eccentricities or mannerisms. And all the better for it!

The playing of the NYPO is very pleasing, not at all superficial or `glossy' but warm and responsive. The recording too is good, focused and unfussy.

Speeds are mainstream, neither excessively swift nor unidiomatically slow, certainly nothing like the slow, heavy pace of the later Bernstein years. Indeed nothing is over-played. Phrasing is sensitive but not fussy. There is telling energy and momentum but nothing is over-driven. The performances have plenty of `character' but nothing is distorted for the sake of `emphasis'. And mercifully there is none of the tiresome `point-making' that became a feature of the Bernstein style from the late 1970's on.

Isaac Stern's performance of the Violin Concerto is among the very best and has rightly received much recognition. It still sounds beautiful, moving, and deeply felt. What a fine violinist Stern was!

All-together this is a fine collection that has the feel of a `classic' set. There are some (well me at least!) who will find this set offers a great deal more pleasure and satisfaction than offered in later years by Bernstein.

Bernstein's set of Beethoven symphonies was one of the first I heard as a teenager, so I have a sentimental spot for these recordings and decided to buy them on CD when I found them at an attractive price. I am not a musician, but I do enjoy classical music very much.

What's good about this set:
The performances are very good. Note that Bernstein takes the 1st movement of No. 5 slower than some (8:35 to complete); that's not a negative, but something you should be aware of. The recordings date from 1959-1970. A little hiss is audible on the oldest (the violin concerto), but not annoyingly so. I have heard that Bernstein drove recording engineers nuts by demanding that they crank up the bass to overcome the limitations of LPs; that seems to have been corrected.

What's bad about this set:
The track listings and printing on the CDs are off. The disc with Nos. 6 & 8 is labeled as having Nos. 6 & 5. The final movement of No. 9 is divided into two tracks (the split occurs when the singers enter), but none of the listings indicate this. That's sloppy work on Sony's part. The booklet contains nothing but the track listings and recording dates and locations -- there are no liner notes or essays of any kind, which I found disappointing. "Limited edition box set" suggests care and attention to detail that I think this set lacks when it comes to packaging. Finally, I think Sony has priced the set a bit high, especially given the weak packaging. I paid considerably less through a record club and feel that I received good value (my rating reflects this); I would feel less so at the price shown here as I write this. After all, you can buy Herbert von Karajan's first set from DG -- an acclaimed set of recordings dating from the same era (on five discs, with no overtures or violin concerto) -- for roughly half the price right here at Amazon.

CD's come in a cardboard box - no problem - but all the CD's are encased in cheesey paper sleeves. This one went stright into the disc changer, never to come out.

Outweighing that..? Beethoven *AND* Bernstein!